This Game Teaches: This basketball drill is a game that is fun and naturally teaches dribbling while looking up because players have to look up to see where the other kids are AND to keep from getting tagged. Also, it creates pressure and improves peripheral vision. This is a self-teaching game - the players learn basketball skills while playing the game. It is 100% onball. No lines. Everyone is involved. No elimination. You could give patches to the players who are tagged the fewest amount of times as an extra motivation. If you do it this way, play the game several times for one or 2 minutes per game - that will force the players to play hard and fast.

How to Play Dribble Tag (Submitted by Coach Kay, Rec basketball, 3rd and 4th grade, Dayton OH. Thanks Coach Kay!!! We sent her 50 free motivational basketball patches for her players.)

"One of our favorite practice games is one I adapted from the Dribble Across a Square drill. We call it Dribble Tag. Everybody has a ball, and the game is restricted to half court. One person is "it." Everyone must dribble continuously and try to avoid "it," while "it" must dribble continuously while trying to tag somebody with her free hand. Whoever is tagged becomes "it" and must try to tag somebody (no tag-backs). If you double dribble or step out of bounds, you automatically become "it." This is fun and actually makes for a good workout, since the kids are constantly moving and frequently must put on bursts of speed -- just like during games. My co-coach and I often join in the fun."

NOTE: Making the area smaller makes the game more difficult but works best with experienced players.